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Switchfoot - Who We Are

Switchfoot - Who We Are Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Fading West
Released: 2013

Who We Are Lyrics

Who We Are

The lead single for Switchfoot's ninth studio album, Fading West, takes bassist Tim Foreman back to the band's early days, when they were "driving around California stuffed into a minivan with guitars and drums, ready to take on the world." He added during an interview with Rolling Stone: "Armed with nothing but a few songs and a wild hope, we were dumb enough to think that it could work. Maybe that's the only way that the world has ever changed, by people dumb enough to try. So here's to everyone who's young and dumb enough to ignore the crowd and believe in who they are."

The song features vocals by Switchfoot band members' children, which links in with the song's message. Guitarist Drew Shirley told Evangelical Alliance's Idea magazine: "I love what I do - but am I being a good husband? Am I being a good father? Those are the questions I ask myself all the time. Marriage in rock 'n' roll is a wasteland. You look around and a lot of them are tragically affected in negative ways by stress, success, travel, adultery or pressures. It is such a blessing to have our wives and families behind us 100 per cent."

"The song 'Who We Are' is all about knowing your identity and living from a place of security," he added. "Our kids sang the backing on that track – a beautiful moment. I am a father, a husband, a rock guitarist, a friend, a music producer. Let who you are determine what you do, not what you do determine who you are."

Speaking with CCM magazine, vocalist Jon Foreman told the story behind the song. "As a band, our identity is forged by what we've endured together the highs and the lows of the past eight albums together," he explained. "This is a song that we wrote looking back at our story: a band of brothers- sleeping in vans, armed only with words, melodies, and ambition, trying to conquer the world together. '1, 2, 3, 4, 5...' The odd count in was to introduce the brotherhood of the five of us. The inspiration for this song began in the bridge- 'They said it's complicated, they said we'd never make it this far.' These words and this melody came to me out of the blue and became the skeleton for the rest of the tune."

"Over the course of 2013, we were completing an album and a movie, both titled Fading West," Foreman continued. "Musically, our goals for the record were to match the exotic landscapes captured in the film with our instrumentation. To do this, we tried to rethink our use of traditional rock instruments or abandon them altogether. The verses of 'Who We Are' are a great example of that line of thought. Instead of finding our guitar inspiration in the traditional western sources of Led Zep. or The Beatles, we looked to Fela Kuti, a Nigerian musician."

"The vocal layering in the chorus is another example of pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone," he continued. "The song was pretty much completed, but we still felt like there was something missing. We toyed with changing the melody of the chorus, but it didn't feel quite right. Somehow the lyric wasn't connecting with it- it lacked the youth and spark in the identity that the chorus was singing about. The vocals didn't feel like they belonged with the rest of the track, as if they were not adventurous enough. So we decided to bring the song home, literally. For me, my role in my daughter's life as a father is one of the highest privileges I could ever think of. Who better to sing about our identity than our children? So we brought our kids in to sing in the chorus, and all at once the song felt completed. Like the movie, the song took a trip around the world to finally find its place at home."

Switchfoot - Love Alone Is Worth The Fight

Switchfoot - Love Alone Is Worth The Fight Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Fading West
Released: 2013

Love Alone Is Worth The Fight Lyrics

Love Alone Is Worth The Fight

This was one of two lead singles (alongside "Who We Are") from Fading West. The song was overwhelmingly supported at radio, with all 55 Christian adult contemporary stations that report to Nielsen Soundscan playing the single in its debut week - the first time this has happened.

The song was inspired by a comment made by Charlie Peacock, the producer who signed Switchfoot to their first record deal. Frontman Jon Foreman recalled to CCM magazine that he, "sat us down one time and began to tell us what he had learned over the years. He told us, 'You can sell millions of albums, you can be #1 on radio charts, you can win Grammys and more - but at the end of all of this, none of that matters as much as the people around you.'"

Foreman continued: "'Love Alone is Worth The Fight.' For me this title sums up the past 15 years of our time as a band- nothing else is worth the fight, worth the struggle, worth the scars," Foreman added. "Nothing else even comes close. Not sex, not drugs, not even rock and roll. From time to time we all come to those difficult moments of struggle- when life becomes a fight. Maybe we are depressed and can't seem to find a way out. Or maybe we're dealing with the loss of someone we love. And maybe in that existential moment we begin to wonder what we're living for, what we're aiming for, what we're struggling for."

"Yes, there are dark times when I fear the unknown. I fear pain, I fear humiliation, I'm afraid of the unknown within myself.," he continued. "But reacting blindly, driven by our fears leads us to horrible places. Maybe fear is love's true opposite. Racism, genocide, religious wars- these are fueled by fear. Most of my worst decisions, including hatred, are fueled by fear. But perfect love casts out fears. Perfect love brings us to a place of strength where we can accept the people and situation around us rather than fear it or deny it."

The music video consists of scenes shot for the band's Rock documentary film Fading West, directed by Matt Katsolis. They were filmed during Switchfoot's 2012 World Tour, in locations such as the US, Australia, Bali, New Zealand and South Africa.

This won Best Rock Contemporary Song at the 2014 Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards. Switchfoot also took home the prize for Best Rock/Contemporary Album for Fading West at the same ceremony.

Switchfoot - Say It Like You Mean It

Switchfoot - Say It Like You Mean It Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Fading West
Released: 2014

Say It Like You Mean It Lyrics

Say It Like You Mean It

While Switchfoot were tracking songs for Fading West they were also trying to develop musical beds that could be useful for the accompanying documentary of the same title, which features a behind-the-scenes look at the band, and follows its members to their surfing destinations. Frontman Jon Foreman recalled on Land Of Broken Hearts : "After tracking the drums and bass for every potential song on the record, Tim (Foreman, bass) and Chad (Butler, drums) would spend a few minutes jamming, utilizing the tones that we had developed for the previous song. A few of these drum and bass grooves were useful for the movie- but one of them quickly became more important than just background music. 'Say It Like You Mean It' was directly inspired by one of these jam sessions. It felt like a perfect accompaniment to Rob Machado's surfing in Bali - aggressive and distinctly stylish with a bit of an exotic flair."

Chad Butler recalled on a Spotify track-by-track: "We were – we were sort of – Tim and I were sort of working out the rhythm for this in the studio and just sort of jamming on that idea – that main groove. The song sort of built from the ground up."

The song's lyrical element came from Jon Foreman's own inner dialogue. He explained: "I want to be the same person on and off-stage. I am drawn towards the people I meet who do what they say and say what they do. This type of living shows a purity of thought and action that is increasingly hard to find. I look at the talking heads and the politicians and I wonder whether their words in the spotlight and their lives behind closed doors match up. Talk is cheap- Life is hard. This is an indictment for me and everyone else in the spotlight: 'You say it like you mean it, but we still don't believe it.'"

Switchfoot - Slipping Away

Switchfoot - Slipping Away Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Fading West
Released: 2014

Slipping Away Lyrics

Slipping Away

Jon Foreman (from Land Of Broken Hearts ): "Of all the mysteries of life, perhaps death is the strangest reality of the human experience. The cessation of a human being on the planet is almost impossible to come to terms with. Eyes no longer filled with light. Heart no longer beating. Hands cold. Breath gone. But beneath all of this, the question remains: where did my friend go? The room is vacant, the body abandoned."

"The memories are all that are left, the ghosts of a time passed. And in many ways, these memories represent the graveside tombstones of times that will never be ours again. We lay our flowers on the gravesides, we honor what has been with our present time. We can remember what has been, but we can never have these moments again."

"Indeed, where you come from is gone. 'Slipping Away' is a song about loss, and the memories that remain."

Drummer Chad Butler recalled on a Spotify track-by-track: "I remember the first time Jon played this song for me I fell in love instantly with the lyric 'waking up at four in the morning, before the sun comes up' – just the whole nostalgia of that and the idea that live is short, and don't let it slip away."

Switchfoot - Let It Out

Switchfoot - Let It Out Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Fading West
Released: 2014

Let It Out Lyrics

Keep, keep, keep
Keep pushing this higher, oh
I've been living uptight
(Take it easy right now)
Like a moth to the fire, oh
Like I'm losing this fight
(Take it easy right now)

From the day we're born
We are scarred and torn
We've been scared to sing out loud

But we don't care no more
'Cause we know life is short
We don't care who hears us now
Breathe it in and Let It Out, oh

Let it out, oh
(Breathe it in and) let it out, oh
Let it out, oh

Got, got, got
Got me walking on a wire, oh
Got me shaking at night
(Take it easy right now)
When my soul gets tired, oh
Feel like I'm losing that fight
(Take it easy right now)

From the day we're born
We are scarred and torn
We've been scared to sing out loud

But we don't care no more
'Cause we know life is short
We don't care who hears us now
Breathe it in and let it out, oh

Let it out, oh
(Breathe it in and) let it out, oh
Let it out, oh

Yeah, come on, let it out

Are you holding on?
Are you up against those ropes?
'Cause I know how it feels to lose hope
Are you holding in?
Well come on, let it out, oh (take it easy)

Take a breath and let it out
(Take a breath and let it out)

From the day we're born
We are scarred and torn
We've been scared to sing out loud

But we don't care no more
'Cause we know life is short
We don't care who hears us now
Breathe it in and let it out

Let it out, oh
Let it out, oh
Yeah, c'mon, let it out,
Let it out, oh
Let it out, oh

Breathe it in and let it out, oh
Oh, oh, oh

Writer/s: JON FOREMAN, TIM FOREMAN, ANDREW PEARSON
Publisher: CYPMP
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Let It Out

This song finds vocalist Jon Foreman reflecting on his love of singing. He explained on the Land Of Broken Hearts website : "I sing because of joy. For me the joy far outweighs the risk of failure. Joy is the motivation for my songs. Even in a song of anger, or mourning the loss of a friend- I find joy in expressing the isolated seas within me- bringing them to the surface with a melody or a word. Often the communal experience that exists when we play our songs live, finds its beginnings in lonely isolation."

Bassist Tim Foreman commented in a Spotify track-by-track: "This song is a party. It's just… you can't listen to it and not smile. I can't. It reminds me of summertime."

Switchfoot - Saltwater Heart

Switchfoot - Saltwater Heart Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Fading West
Released: 2014

Saltwater Heart Lyrics

Saltwater Heart

Drummer Chad Butler explained during a Spotify track-by-track: "'Saltwater Heart' came together in the magical island of Bali. We were traveling the world, chasing waves and songs and this song came together on the cliff overlooking the Indian ocean. It was inspired by the surroundings. This song is a reflection of that feeling of being on the edge of the earth."

Switchfoot vocalist Jon Foreman explained the song's meaning during a track-by-track on the Land Of Broken Hearts website : "'Saltwater' is a song about longing. On tour, I often feel brittle and thirsty for substance," he said. "Far from shore, far from home- the ink dries up, and the blood begins to clot. I begin to feel like a sojourner longing for home, wanting to be washed clean of the dust of travel. And yet there is a deeper longing. A spiritual longing that no physical location can give me- not even my hometown. 'Saltwater' is a song that is trying to speak to both of these longings at once: longings of my physical being and the longings of my soul."